I Loved Her First
by As1anPersuas1on
Summary: Percy and Annabeth have been best friends forever, but now with her recent engagement, is Percy ready to reveal his feelings for her? Or will he let the state take matters into his own hands? And besides, who is he to break the law?
1. Chapter 1

_I do not own Percy Jackson, or the Seven Year Hitch._

The worst thing about being in love with your best friend, is realizing too late that you never told her. Sure I had said "I love you", but it never had the meaning behind it that it truly meant. I had always loved Annabeth. First as my neighbor that played with me on the swings, then my study partner through middle school, my date to every homecoming and prom because we didn't want to go alone, and then finally roommate. But that love transformed when she came back to our apartment with the news that "she met someone".

Of course I was happy for her, and was the most supportive best friend I could be. I helped her pick out the outfit she wore on her first date and then stayed up till four in the morning talking about how it went. Falling asleep on the couch with her leaning on my shoulder made me realize that that was how I wanted to wake up for the rest of my life.

That's when I realized that the love I always knew was there, had transformed into an all consuming torrent of emotion that I had no idea how to control.

But by the time I finally had the courage to say something, she came home with a ring on her finger and a sparkle in her eyes. It was basically like getting a baseball bat to the stomach. That's the thing that sucks about being in love. You will always put their happiness before your own. And if marrying Luke makes her the happy, then I'll be the greatest best friend I can be. Sure, it hurts every time she smiles and I know that she's thinking of him and not me. Sure I'll be there when they say their vows and kiss. Sure I'll still be there when she has to get vaccinations because the needles scare her. But, I would rather be in her life as a friend that not be in it at all. Because that's what you do when you're in love.

"Hey, earth to Percy." Annabeth waved her hand in front of her best friend's face when she saw he was starting to zone out. Maybe it was time for a break. Even she couldn't handle this much wedding planning at a time. In fact, it was usually Percy that made sure she stayed on task. Most of the time she felt like she was drowning in a sea of different color swatches that she could swear were all the same exact shade of white, or getting sore fingers from how many little bows she had to tie around various items like bubbles or party favors.

"Hmmm?" Percy looked at her and blinked a few times to get the daydream out of his head. "Sorry, did you say something?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes amusedly, "Yes I was just saying that I have decided to forgo any and all wedding preparations that involve the color eggshell. It is far too close to the color cream."

Percy laughed and nudged her in the shoulder which she playfully pushed back. "But seriously, I was just saying that I wanted to keep the dinner simple, no seven course meal or anything. And it will help cut back the cost of everything if we only offer two entree choices. I just wanted you help choosing which two."

Annabeth took in Percy's demeanor again and saw his sad face. Yes, it was definitely time for a break. "Or…..we could push this off until next week when the menu is due, and we can go to Tobey's, get a pizza, and go home and veg with the dog?"

At that, she immediately saw Percy perk up. He stood so quickly and was at the door before she even had her purse over her shoulder. Annabeth laughed at Percy's childish antics, and they headed out of the door of the small wedding shop.

As they walked, Annabeth's and Percy's arms linked together, Annabeth couldn't help but reminisce about the past. The day was beautiful for April, and there wasn't a cloud in sight, so it was perfect to get lost in her own thoughts.

Percy had been her first friend when her father and her moved to New York. She had been playing in the lobby of their apartment building with a slinky, when an older nine year old boy stole it from her. Percy had come to her rescue by pushing the boy down and valiantly giving her the slinky back. They had been best friends ever since. They went to the same school and then the same college.

Annabeth had majored in architecture and gone on to get her master's at NYU. She then was an intern at a local firm, and she made the right connections, because she was now operating her own business out of the same building. Percy on the other hand had majored in History with an emphasis in Greek and Roman culture with mythology. He had plans to go into his master's but his mother got sick and he decided to wait and help his step-father pay the medical bills. Once she was better, Percy had already been teaching at the local middle school for years and had gotten comfortable. He didn't want to leave, but a teacher's salary, wasn't much to live on, and so we decided to be roommates.

Together, they had been in the same two bedroom house for over five years. Together they had faced relationships and breakups and late night works sessions and bills. They now had a dog named Zeus, a beautiful yellow lab, and they were thinking of upgrading to a bigger house, but this one had so many memories. They had this strange tradition, every Wednesday night, they would order pizza from the local pizza shop and watch a different movie together. Every month it was a different genre and that's how they had been up until a few months ago.

A few months ago, Annabeth had been taking the bus back home. She usually walked but it was raining pretty badly and she didn't bring her umbrella. So she was standing between a young woman nursing an infant and a greasy, mustached man in a bowler hat. Did people even wear bowler hats anymore? She was trying to determine if the hat that Charlie Chaplin wore was in fact a bowler hat, when said greasy man bumped into her and she lost her balance. She was about to hit the floor of the bus when a pair of strong arms caught her and stopped her descent.

"Woah there." He was a tall man, and very muscular. Sandy blond hair and striking blue eyes that spoke of mischief.

As if he heard her last thought about mischief he looked at their entwined arms and said, "I think you just fell for me," and he flashed her the most dazzling set of perfectly straight teeth right out of a Cosmo.

After a straightening of limbs and a sharp glance to the greasy mustache man, introductions were made.

"Hi, I'm Annabeth, I'm sorry for the fall." She stuck out her hand and he took it. She thought she felt a little tingly sensation in her hand, but it was probably in her imagination.

"Hi, I'm Luke. Luke Castellan."

And they say that the rest is history. They had begun talking and agreed to meet for a lunch date on Thursday. Soon lunch dates became dinner dates, and dates to the local ball game, and the restaurants became fancier. Six weeks after their initial meeting, Luke proposed.

Looking back on it now, it was really quick. They had only known each other for a little over a month, but Luke made her feel special and she wasn't getting any younger. And so, dates were set, colors were picked and Percy got cranky.

Ever since she met look and told Percy about it, he had gone quiet. Everything would be fine and then she would say something that Luke and her did and Percy would go quiet and retreat into himself. He was still the fun loving, goofy, seaweed brain that she always had, but her relationship with Luke seemed to rub him the wrong way.

Arriving at Tobey's, Percy put in their usual order and they sat on the bench to wait their required 20 minutes.

I must have been too deep in thought about Percy and his aversion to Luke that I was making a face, because Percy looked at me concerned.

"Hey, Wise Girl, what's going on in that big brain of yours?"

I playfully leaned my head on his shoulder, "I was justing thinking about the men in my life."

Percy wrapped his arm protectively around me. "So you're saying there's two of us? You're not cheating on me with another best friend are you?! I'm devastated!"

We both laughed at that and I playfully punched his arm. "No seaweed brain. I would never replace you. You are my one and only best friend."

At that Percy smirked and leaned his head back to rest against the wall.

"I was just thinking about, what you have against Luke."

At those words, Percy closed his eyes and sighed dramatically. "Well, to be honest, I don't know. I just have this really bad vibe about him. Like he's too good to be true. Plus you only knew him for a month before you decided to marry him."

"It was 6 weeks, Percy."

"Close enough. And I bet he doesn't even know what your favorite color is. Which, FYI, is green. Your purse is green, your room is green, your coat is teal, that's a type of green!"

"Percy…"

"I'm sorry. I just don't know. He just rubs me the wrong way."

We sat silently until the pizza was ready. I stood up to pay for it and turned towards the door when Percy took my upper arm.

"Hey, you know that I just want you to be happy right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, if marrying Luke makes you happy, I'm all for it."

I grinned and gave him the biggest hug I could give with a pizza box between us.

"Thank you so much Perce, that means a lot to me."

"Yeah, well, that just means that I got out of paying for a pizza."

I laughed and we started the trek home, enjoying each other's presence.

 _Tobey's is a real pizza place that I worked at during High School._


	2. Chapter 2

_I do not own Percy Jackson or The Seven Year Hitch._

Percy was seething. Sitting on the couch, drinking a lemonade, and reminding Annabeth at least half a dozen times that she looked beautiful. She was going on a date with Luke tonight, and she seemed to be taking extra special care about her appearance. She needed everything to look perfect for him. Apparently tonight they were having a big corporate dinner with Luke's accounting firm, and she didn't want to mess anything up for them.

"Is my hair alright with this dress? Or should I leave it down?"

"You're hair is fine just the way it is."

"What about these shoes? Do they go with the rest of the outfit?"

"Those shoes look just as nice as the last pair you had on."

"I'm going to go change." Annabeth dashed back into her bedroom to change her shoes again.

"I don't understand why you're having such a big fuss over this, you've never cared this much on any other date."

Annabeth came hopping into the living room putting on another pair of shoes. "Because, PERCY, tonight I am meeting a lot of his coworkers and his boss, I want to make a good impression."

"Oh, right. Can't have the head honchos think that we don't belong."

Annabeth rolled her eyes at me. "Whatever, Luke is going to be here in a few minutes, so can you help me with this necklace?"

I looked up and she was standing there with two ends of a diamond necklace in each hand. I stood up from the couch, set my lemonade on the coffee table, and took the necklace from her. She turned around so that she had her back to me and she swept her hair to the side so I wouldn't clip it into the clasp. After the necklace was securely fastened, Annabeth let her hair back down and turned for me to see.

She was stunning. It took my breath away to look at her. She was a vision in a sensible but chic black cocktail dress. The diamond necklace went well with the owl earrings that she was wearing, and I couldn't help but do a little high five to myself for getting her those earrings for her birthday. They were my mother's when she dated my dad, and wanted me to give them to Annabeth for her 12th birthday. She topped it all off with her signature teal coat to ward off the night air. So of course I was extremely jealous of Luke for being able to parade her around a clan of accountants claiming her as his.

"You look beautiful Wise Girl."

She smiled a thousand watt smile and gave me a hug. I squeezed her shoulders and breathed in her lemony scent when the doorbell rang, alerting us to Luke's arrival.

We let go of each other and together we walked to the door. Luke was standing there in his business attire and was leaning against the doorframe like he owned the place.

"Hey there gorgeous." Luke leaned in and gave Annabeth a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey there yourself." Annabeth smiled and went to take his arm. Before they made it two steps she turned back to me, "I'll be back by 11 okay?"

"Alright, just don't do anything I wouldn't do." I waved and saw her laugh before they rounded the corner to and left.

I was dozing off on the couch with the TV flipped to Grey's Anatomy when Annabeth burst through the door in a rage. I quickly sat up and changed it to a station that usually had some sort of sport on it and turned to see what was wrong.

Annabeth had changed into her fuzzy pajamas and was sitting with Zeus on the recliner with a tub of ice cream and the scoop. Something was obviously wrong and I had been around her for long enough to know to tread lightly or risk having to eat dinner on the floor with the dog.

I stood up and went over to them and sat on the floor in front of the recliner. I took one of her feet that was curled under her and started to rub it, starting at the arch and working my way around from the pad of her foot to the ball of her heel.

We sat like that for a few minutes until I knew she was cooled off enough to have a conversation.

"Want to talk about it?"

Annabeth huffed and put the ice cream on the side table. "Luke ignored me the whole night. He didn't introduce me to anyone. There are all these young leggy secretaries fawning over him, AND when he noticed that I wasn't socializing, HE TOLD ME THAT I COULD MAKE AN EFFORT TO BE FRIENDS WITH HIS FRIENDS OR GO HOME!" By now even the dog knew that this was not the right time to try and cuddle with momma Annabeth, so he jumped down and went into the kitchen to sit by the fridge.

"Well, it seems like you guys are having your first big fight. Even if he doesn't know it yet."

"Yeah, well, I'm not speaking to him until tomorrow and he realizes what he did wrong."

"Well, ya know Annie," I got a death glare from the nickname. "I don't think Luke knows that he did anything wrong."

"What do you mean of course he does. He knows exactly what he did wrong."

"Well, obviously not. Because if he did, then he wouldn't have treated you that way, or he is obviously emotionally deranged."

"Fine, I'll tell him what he did wrong and then wait for an apology, but I'm still not speaking to him until tomorrow, probably on our lunch date."

"Okay, if that makes you feel better, than go on ahead."

"Good, I'm glad you approve. Now, I'm going to hop in the tub, and go to sleep. I nodded my approval and watched her go to the bathroom and close the door. Not one minute later Annabeth was back out in her robe rummaging through the house trying to find something.

"Hey Perce, have you seen my glasses?"

"I thought they were in your purse." I had to quickly change the channel again to not reveal my secret obsession with Grey's.

I heard Annabeth groan behind me and hit the table. "That's what I was afraid of. I left it in Luke's car. I didn't think I would need it and just took my phone and wallet out. Then I took the subway home because I was mad. Now I have to go back there."

Annabeth started back into her room to change when I got up and got the keys to my car. "Don't worry about it. I'll go get it for you. You go ahead and have a nice soak in the tub while I fetch it for you."

"Thank you so much Percy. You're the best."

"Yeah yeah, I knew there was a reason you kept me around."

Stepping into the restaurant, I felt like a clown in a funeral. Everyone was wearing high end fashion while I just walked in wearing a T-shirt over a unbuttoned-button up, jeans, and converse. I was quickly scanning the area and saw Luke sitting at a table with a woman wearing a red dress that matched her hair. I walked over to Luke's table, but before I got there I saw him lean over and start nibbling on her ear.

This stopped me in my tracks and made me hide behind a potted fern. I had to be sure that what I had just witnessed was true. For my luck, he could have just been whispering something into her ear and his teeth just happened to get in the way. I stood there watching them for a few more moments, but those few moments just proved the fact that Luke was being unfaithful. They were holding hands, and he had tucked her hair behind her ear, and when she got up to powder her nose or something, he took way too much time taking his eyes off of her retreating figure.

This, I figured, was the appropriate time to make a move. I quickly pounced onto the opportunity to expose Luke for the sniveling, cheating scum that he was. And it wouldn't be too bad to hear that I was right about my gut instincts.

"So there you are you sneaky little rich boy."

Luke looked genuinely startled that I was even there. "Percy! What are you doing here?!"

"Well, you see, Annabeth left her purse in your car after you so rudely dismissed her from your presence, but now I see why. It's so you could come over here and snog with that little red-headed tart!"

"Listen Percy, I can explain…"

"I don't want you to explain. I saw enough, and when I tell Annabeth about this, you will be out of our lives." With that I stormed out of the restaurant and headed to my car to tell Annabeth about what I just witnessed.

 _Grey's Anatomy is a medical drama series._


	3. Chapter 3

_I know I said I would update every day and this is technically Sunday, so I will post later today also. :)_

 _So I realized that I didn't have any of my little page breaks when I uploaded the first two chapters. I promise they will be there now. Hopefully this will make things a little less confusing. :)_

 _I do not own Percy Jackson or The Seven Year Hitch._

I didn't know what to do when I heard the doorbell and on the other side was Luke standing there like he had run the entire way from the restaurant. He was disheveled, his shirt was untucked, his hair stuck up, and he was out of breath. He also happened to be holding my purse.

"Luke?! What are you doing here?"

"Well, you see, after you left, I realized how I had treated you. And I left early to come and apologize...and return your purse." Luke held out my purse gently and looked at me through his lashes. I hate to say that it worked, I forgave him.

I took the purse and gave him a hug. "Thank you for apologizing, it means a lot to me and just proves that you care." I gave him a cheerful smile and he let out a breathe that I assume he was holding in because he wanted forgiveness. "Now, why don't we go into the living room and talk about some wedding details? I've had to drag Percy to every single one of my meetings this week so you are not getting out of this one!"

I took his hand and drug him into the living room. I set down my purse on the kitchen table and went to my bedroom to find my portfolio of my plannings. I had just sat back down on the couch when I heard the front door burst open and Percy run in.

"Annabeth! I need to talk to you about what I saw...HOW'D YOU GET HERE SO FAST?!" Percy was huffing and puffing in the same manner Luke was when he first arrived. I assumed the latter question was directed to Luke so I waited for him to answer.

"What do you mean Percy? I was here with Annabeth."

Percy looked at him confused. "No you weren't I saw you at the restaurant when I went to get her purse. Annabeth, you won't believe what I saw this little two timing snake doing."

Luke stood up from the couch and walked over toward Percy. I never realized how much taller than Percy Luke was, but with them standing nose to nose, it was obvious that Luke was trying to intimidate Percy, obviously it wasn't working.

"Listen here, I don't know what you're _insinuating,_ Percy, but I would never cheat on Annabeth here. Understand? Whether you like it or not, I'm here to stay." With that, Luke turned around and gave me a peck on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow at lunch baby."

I looked at him a little disappointed. "You're not going to stay?"

"I don't think so baby, I don't feel really _welcome_ here. Night."

With that, Luke strode out of the door, leaving me upset and Percy fuming.

After a few minutes, I rounded on Percy. "What the heck was that!?"

Percy turned to me confused, "What was what?"

"That! Why'd you barge in here and accuse him of cheating on me?!"

"Um, because he was! I saw him at the restaurant nibbling on some red-head's ear."

"There is no way that could have happened. Luke never said he saw you at the restaurant, and you were obviously too far away to definitely know, maybe he was just telling her a secret!"

Percy gave me an exasperated look, "Yeah, because I would confuse a whisper for a little tug on the ear lobe." Percy was now being sarcastic and it didn't suit him well.

"Is this just because you don't think Luke is good enough for me? Is it just because we've known each other for six weeks? I thought you said you were going to be happy for me."

"I am happy for you! I just don't want you wasting your life on a guy that is cheating on you. And since when do you believe Luke over me? Your best friend?!"

At those words I stopped and thought about what I just did. Looking back on it now, it was really uncalled for and I it was the second time that night that I had gotten riled up because of the men in my life. I felt guilty immediately about accusing Percy of lying to me.

"I'm sorry Perce. I didn't mean to get all worked up, and I certainly didn't mean what I said. I've just had a long day and I'm tired." With those words I sat on the couch and leaned my head against the back of it.

Percy walked over to me and mirrored my position on the couch. We stayed there for who knows how long just staring up at the ceiling fan slowly turning. Percy was the one to break the silence, I was almost asleep. "You know that I care for you right?"

I opened my eyes and tilted my head sideways to look at him. "Of course I do."

Percy just nodded his head. "Never forget that okay?"

I continued to stare up at the ceiling. I didn't feel like moving off of the couch so I just slightly tilted my head and let it rest against Percy's shoulder. His head then tilted and rested on top of mine. We sat there in comfortable silence, I heard Percy's soft snoring fill the room and soon my own eyes had started to feel heavy. The last thought that went through my mind before sleep overtook me was the fact that I was the luckiest girl in the world to have Percy in my life.

I awoke the next morning in my bed. I didn't remember waking up and walking there, so Percy must have carried me here last night. I stretched and walked into the bathroom to brush my teeth and put my hair up into a messy ponytail. Sunday was a lazy day for both of us, and we usually didn't leave the apartment if we could help it.

I walked into the kitchen and saw Percy standing there in a white t-shirt and sleeping bottoms cooking breakfast. As I approached the high bar table and sat in a stool, he effortlessly put down a cup of coffee in front of me. I smiled appreciatively and he smiled back before turning back to the stove so the food wouldn't burn.

"Morning," I said through a yawn.

"Morning to you too." With that he set down a plate of blue pancakes in front of me and I had to laugh. He has always had an affinity for the color blue, and whenever he has the opportunity, he will slip the color into anything.

"So what are the plans for today?" He asked while turning off the stove and approaching the bar with a plate of his own blue pancakes.

I took a bite of my pancakes and a sip of coffee before answering. "Well, I was planning on a lazy morning, but I have a lunch meeting with Luke, and then the rest of the evening, I'm crashing here with a bowl of Ramen."

Percy nodded and proceeded to drown his pancakes in syrup.

"What about you? What are your plans for the day?"

Percy took a big bite of his pancakes and I had to wait a few moments for him to chew, swallow, and lick the syrup from his mouth. "Grover texted me this morning. He's back in town for a family reunion and wants to get together to hang out before having to go back to work in New York."

"Sounds like a good day."

"Yeah, it should be." With that, we both finished our breakfasts.

Percy went to do the dishes but I insisted that because he cooked I should clean up. We playfully argued over doing the chore before finally settling on a friendly competition. We both stared at each other for as long as we could, but luckily for me, Percy blinked first. With that out of the way, I started on the dishes and Percy walked towards the bathroom to shower.

We both dressed for our respective afternoons, played with Zeus for a little while, and then we left the apartment until later.


	4. Chapter 4

_I do not own Percy Jackson or The Seven Year Hitch._

Seeing Grover for the first time since he went off to New York City to become a famous Lawyer was the highlight of my week. We decided to meet in the park near the house and then walk somewhere to get a bite to eat. I got there first considering it was just a hop, skip, and a jump away. So sitting there by myself surrounded by young adults in love and older married couples taking a lovely stroll, I couldn't help but think about how Annabeth was doing.

As I was sitting there, she was across the river, probably at a swanky cafe, talking and cohorting with Luke. He was probably reassuring her that nothing that happened last night actually happened. She would believe him and they would go on being the power couple this side of the Potomac.

I must have been making a face and deep in thought because Grover had snuck up on me and said, "Hey Perce, you okay? It looks like you ate a sour grape."

I blinked and stood with the biggest grin on my face. Right there in front of me was my best wingman. We stood there hugging but quickly separated before it became too awkward and sat down on the bench I had just vacated.

"Grover! How've you been man? We've missed you here."

Grover shrugged and ran a hand through his curly brown hair. "I've been good. I got a job at a firm on 118th and a nice apartment, hopefully I'll work my way through the ranks and be a partner in two years."

I clapped him on the back. "Way to go man. That's awesome."

"Yeah, I try to keep my head straight on my shoulders though. And speaking of, where was your head when I walked up?"

I tried to change the subject but Grover was having none of it. So finally I gave in.

"Annabeth is engaged, to a guy named Luke. He's a six foot 2, bronzed Adonis, with a six figure income, working in accounting."

Grover looked at me confused. "And you're jealous that Annabeth snatched up such a catch before you could realize-"

"NO!" I interrupted. Grover started laughing at my expense and I couldn't help but chuckle too. "No, I'm not jealous of anyone, especially Luke."

"I didn't say Luke-"

"I'm upset, because I had a weird vibe about him the second she told me about him. Apparently they met on the bus, they dated for SIX weeks, and now they're engaged."

Grover looked at me with wide eyes and an astonished expression.

"And that's not all. Last night, he and Annabeth went out to some work gathering for his company and he got upset with her for some reason and told her to go home. She came home but forgot her purse in his car, considering she took the subway home. So I volunteered to get it for her. I walk into the restaurant to get Luke to unlock the car when, lo and behold, I witness the very same Luke, sucking on some red-headed bimbo's face!"

"Percy, I'm sure you're exaggerating."

"Alright, so he was just tugging on her ear, but still. It was plain as day. I went to confront him, but he tried to shrug it off. I dashed off to tell Annabeth, but when I got back, Luke was already there, apologizing to Annabeth and convincing her that I was lying or delusional!"

"Wow, that's crazy."

"Yeah, we had a bit of a "spat" but we worked it out. I just don't like the fact that I know he doesn't love her as much as she deserves to be loved."

We sat there in silence, just listening to the park surrounding us, that is until Grover spoke up.

"You love her don't you?"

I hesitated, but denying it would be the biggest lie, and I wasn't willing to lie to Grover. "Yeah, I love her. Too bad it took another guy for me to realize that."

"Yeah, you really know something about timing don't you."

I rolled my eyes at him and he just chuckled. "We've been roommates for over five years, and friends even longer. And now I can't tell her without having her hate me, plus she's engaged to a guy that I absolutely abhor."

"Yeah, but what are you going to do, stop the wedding? You know what happened in "My best friend's wedding right? It didn't end well for Julia Roberts."

"I know that. But I can't stop it anymore than I can convince her that Luke is a bad guy."

Grover leaned his arm against the back of the bench and put his head on his hand. "Yeah, I mean like, it's not like there's any reason that Annabeth couldn't marry him. They're both of legal age, not related, both US citizens…" At that he turned to look at me for confirmation.

"Yes, Luke is an American born citizen."

"And neither of them are already married. So there's nothing stopping them. I mean you could try and drag the engagement on for a few more years, because then you and Annabeth would be considered married, but considering their short dating period, I doubt that would be an option.

I paused and looked at him for confirmation. "What did you just say?"

"I said, that they only dated for a short amount of time, so their likelihood of dragging out their engagement is implausible."

"No before that. Something about Annabeth and I already being married?"

"Oh yeah, you ever heard of a common law marriage?"

"No…" I sat there confused at what Grover was telling me.

"A common law marriage is when a couple have been living together for an extended amount of time. The government considers them married for tax and other purposes. The only way that it can be broken is through a legal divorce, so that means that unless she officially divorces you, she can't marry Luke."

"Grover, you're a genious!"

"I mean, I did go to law school…"

"I can tell Annabeth about our common law marriage, Luke will be upset, he'll cheat on her again. She'll see what a jerk he is, they'll break up and everything will go back to the way it was."

"Except she might hate you." Grover decided to kindly put out.

"Impossible, she'd never hate me. We're best friends after all, and I mean, no one can stay mad at me right?"

"Sure thing," Grover seemed unconvinced. "Now, I'm not positive about all of the criteria for a common law marriage since it's not legal in most states, I'll have to brush up on it."

"Okay, well when you do, let me know so I can make sure that everything is in order."

"Alright, Percy. I hope you know what you're doing."

"Don't worry about it, G-man. I have this planned out."

"If you say so." Grover was still somewhat hesitant about this whole plan, but if it helped Percy and Annabeth realize that they were perfect for each other, he would go along with it.


	5. Chapter 5

_In regards to a question I was asked earlier, yes Zeus is the dog. I'm sorry if I didn't make that quite clear. :)_

 _I do not own Percy Jackson or The Seven Year Hitch_

Walking back into the apartment was a relief. Sure, I had had a great time out with Luke, but I was excited just to have a lazy day in with Percy and Zeus. When I rounded the corner, Percy was standing at the bar wiping it off with a smug look on his face. I did a mental run through. _Is it April 1? Did I forget someone's birthday? Did he win a bet that we made six years ago?_

I decided to take the direct approach. "What are you smirking about?"

He continued to have that look of _I know something you don't_ , and I hated that look. "Oh, nothing…" he said very cryptically.

I decided to stay wary of him, he obviously thought he knew more than me so I would have to prove him wrong. "False, you know something, I can see it in your smug little face, so spill it."

The no nonsense tone of voice did little to make him flinch like it use to instead he rounded the counter and sat on a bar stool. "Annabeth, do you know where we live?"

I rolled my eyes and sat down at the dining table with my laptop. "This is what you want to brag to me about? That you know where we live?"

Instead of getting offended Percy just nodded his head. After him not giving me any other clues to this strange behavior, I gave in and gave him the answer.

"We live in Virginia Percy, I would have thought by now that you would know that."

Percy held up a finger to correct me, "Actually, TECHNICALLY speaking, we live in the District of Columbia."

I shrugged my shoulders and decided to give my attention to some coupons that came through my email from various stores.

"Alright, you got me, we live in the District of Columbia."

If I had been looking, I would have seen Percy's face get even bigger with that smug attitude of his, I'm glad I missed it.

"That's right, and because we live here, you can't marry Luke."

At those words I stopped. I rolled my eyes at him and turned in my chair to face him.

"I thought you said you were going to be happy for me," I said with a little bit of disappointment in my voice.

"Oh, I am happy for you. So happy in fact, that I am stopping you from breaking the law by marrying Luke."

I was confused now. "What do you mean "breaking the law by marrying Luke"?"

Percy shrugged, "I mean that you can't marry Luke because you're already married. To me." With that Percy crossed his arms and leaned back against the bar.

So that's why he was so smug. I should have known that he was still not okay with my relationship with Luke. He was obviously in distress and resorted to creating a false relationship between us, I should probably take him to a hospital.

"Haha, very funny Percy. Now knock it off."

"Oh, I wasn't joking Annabeth. You see, there is this thing called a common law marriage. And it was just so lucky for us, Grover reminded me that we are living in an area that still recognizes common law marriages."

I sat there in stunned silence. In the midst of fifteen minutes, I had gotten married to my best friend.

"Thank you so much for coming over on such short notice." I hugged Juniper as she walked through the door to the apartment. I had called her once Percy left the room after telling me that we were legally married in the eyes of the law.

"No problem, you said over the phone you needed legal guidance, and it just so happens that I happen to be a legal expert." Juniper smiled and me and made her way towards the couch to get more comfortable.

Juniper was an old friend from college. We met in a general education class, even though we had different majors. We became fast friends and kept in touch after graduation. It was just my luck that Juniper happened to be a lawyer for PETA, she was bubbly and energetic, but if she gets wind that your company is mistreating bunnies, she will be on you faster than Percy on blue pancakes.

As we sat on the couch, we caught up on each other's lives and what we were up to. Finally it came down to the nitty gritty.

"OMG! Annabeth! You're engaged!"

I smiled. "Yup, to a man named Luke. He's an accountant for a big firm."

"That's so cute! When's the wedding?"

This is where I hesitated. "Um, actually, that's why I called you here. You see, Percy brought it to my attention, that because we live in the District of Columbia, we are legally binded in a common law marriage."

I stopped and look at Juniper for any chance of disagreeance on her part. Sadly, she only nodded and confirmed my fears.

"Yes, that's possible. Not many states recognize common law marriages anymore, but sadly D.C. does."

I physically deflated.

"But…"

At the sound of her hopeful voice, I perked up again.

"There are some specific guidelines that must be met in order for it to be legal."

"Okay, so you're saying, that if one of these "guidelines" isn't met, I can still marry Luke?"

Juniper nodded. "Exactly, okay so we obviously know that you are living in an area that still accepts common law marriages. So, the next question is how long have you two been living under the same roof?"

"Over five years…"

"Seven years, two months, and ten days to be exact!" Percy shouted from the kitchen. I didn't even know he was in there eavesdropping.

Juniper looked towards where Percy's voice came from and gave me an apologetic smile. "Well, it would have been fine if you two had been only together for seven years, but since you've been living together for longer…"

"What's the next stipulation…" Of course we missed the deadline by two months.

"Okay, have you two ever considered yourselves a married couple?"

"No?" I was confused. "What does that mean, considered ourselves married?"

Juniper shrugged, "Have you two ever introduced yourselves to others as Mr. and Mrs.? Have you ever had any documents signed that you were married?"

I perked up, "No!" And then I deflated a little, "Well, maybe…"

"What does maybe mean Annabeth?"

"Um, I may have told the travel agency that we went through for the cruise that we were married…"

"Don't forget about the phone bill!" Percy decided to pipe up all while hitting pots and pans to try and convince us that he was busy and not listening in.

I sighed, "And the phone bill."

"Annabeth!" Juniper admonished me.

"Well, it's cheaper!"

Juniper huffed. "Fine, well the last one is really a stickler. Have you two ever had any any intentions of getting married?"

"No. No! Haha, that's it! Thank you Juniper!"

"Don't mention it."

We smiled at each other and went to stand up until Percy walked into the room, drying a pot that was obviously not used. "Hey, what about you earrings?"

"Earrings?"

"What earrings Annabeth?" Juniper asked.

"These." I pulled back my hair from the face to show her the owl earrings that Percy had given me for my birthday when we were little.

"Where did you get these Percy?"

"They were my mother's, she gave them to me to give to a special girl in my life." Percy looked at me and batted his eyelashes. Any other time I would have thought it cute and endearing, now it was just gloating and obnoxious.

"Annabeth, how often do you wear these?"

"I only take them out for showers why?"

Juniper sighed, "So you're telling me, that you accepted a family heirloom from Percy, when you were younger, with the intentions of staying together?"

I was desperate. "Yes, well no. I mean, we planned on staying together as friends, not like a married couple." I was just digging a deeper hole.

"That's not what it looks like to the government. I'm sorry Annabeth, but the only way that you can marry Luke, is if you divorce Percy."


	6. Chapter 6

_Thank you to A Fan for telling me that I didn't have any page breaks! I swear I fixed them but when I went back in to edit they were all gone! AHHHH so I have update them. Hopefully they will be there this time. :)_

 _I do not own Percy Jackson or The Seven Year Hitch_

Annabeth seemed to be taking married life to me well. My mother always used to say to me, "Percy, one day you're going to find yourself a nice young woman, who you will want to spend the rest of your life with. Don't blow it." I had done half of those things. I met a nice young woman to spend the rest of my life with, aaaaaannnnnddd I blew it.

For the first few days, she decided to go on with life as though nothing had changed. She went to work, came home, ate dinner with me, went to bed, and started all over again. On Wednesdays we still had our movie nights, but she was always the one picking the movie. It was the only time she would ever claim "wife status".

She still saw Luke, but she never told him about our "marriage". I think she thought that if she didn't tell anyone it would go away. That was not the plan. The plan was for Luke to find out and for them to break up and for him to move to Cambodia. So, the friday before a long weekend at my school and Annabeth's work, I decided to do the "husbandly" thing, and bring Annabeth her lunch at work. Surprise her with a generous gesture of love and adoration, but it was mostly to get the gossip mill going about our marriage. It would be even better if Luke found out from an acquaintance.

Walking into the building wasn't hard, finding Annabeth's fancy glass office wasn't hard either. The hard part was finding Annabeth. Her secretary told me she was in a meeting until 1. I didn't have a lunch break that long, and I couldn't possibly start any good rumors by just leaving the lunch on her desk. So as they say, drastic times call for drastic measures.

I hesitantly knocked on the door leading into the conference room. I could hear Annabeth stop her speech and ask me to enter. I slowly walked in and met the eye of every member of staff in the room.

"Percy? What are you doing here? Is something wrong?"

I plastered a smile on my face that hopefully screamed "newlywed". Walking over to her I placed my arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple, and I enjoyed it a little too much for it all to be acting.

"Nothing's wrong. I just came to drop off your lunch."

I could feel Annabeth tense up under my arm and I just squeezed her tighter. Her face became a calm mask and she politely asked me to step outside. I obliged her, knowing that whatever I said, it would be heard through the door. So I grabbed her hand and led her out of the room. I knew she would be too stubborn and prideful to yank her hand away, that is until the door was closed behind us.

"What is wrong with you?!" Annabeth whispered to avoid her coworkers from hearing us.

"You're welcome honey. I know that, you're busy in the morning, but I didn't want you to starve." I spoke in a voice a little bit too loud to be necessary.

"Percy, cut that out. I'm serious." Annabeth was still in a deathly whisper.

"Now darling, being a newlywed has some changes to it that will take some getting use to, but I know we'll get the hang of it."

Annabeth was starting to get irritated and embarrassed. "Percy, please go home. This isn't the time."

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about, honey."

That was the breaking point.

"Percy, go home. I will discuss this with you later. Until then, please do not interrupt my work day. Goodbye." Annabeth gave me a pointed look and stormed back into the conference room. I stood there for a few moments and then turned to leave. Before making it to the doors, Annabeth's secretary looked up from her computer and whispered a congratulations. I smiled back at her and murmured a thanks before leaving to go back to teaching hooligans.

* * *

I walked home and slammed the door a little harder than I intended to. I was extremely irate considering what Percy had put me through for the last few hours of work. After I had gotten done reprimanding him for his interruption, I walked back into the room to greet uncomfortable silence. It stayed that way until I made it to my spot, sat down and stared ahead. It was then that someone at the far end of the table piped up and asked if I was really married.

I confirmed that, yes, I was "married". It was then that the meeting was unofficially over, because the office broke out into various celebratory cheers and congratulations. We stopped all work for the rest of the day to celebrate my nuptials, after a brief reprimanding for not alerting anyone to the marriage. As soon as five rolled around, I excused myself to go home, claiming that I wanted to spend some "quality time" with my "husband". Which was all true except it was for different reasons that everyone thought.

Storming into the living room after putting my purse into the kitchen table with a little more force than necessary, I strode to stand in front of Percy to block his view of the television so I could have his undivided attention.

"Perseus Jackson! What were you thinking?! Coming into my work to announce to everyone that we were married?! When in fact, we are not?"

Percy just calmly regarded me and looked at me with an expression of hurt mixed with his usual smirk.

"Why, Mrs. Jackson. It is lovely to see you. It has been quite a long time since I saw you last and I do miss you when you are not near me. You look radiant as ever."

"This isn't funny Percy. You know that we are only married according to the law."

"Yes, and it is the law keeping us together. Because, call me selfish, but I don't want share you with anyone else."

If I didn't know any better, I would have thought he was serious about that statement. He was looking at me seriously and didn't seem to be joking around, but I knew better. He was just doing this so I wouldn't marry Luke, which right now, was a pretty good plan.

I sighed audibly to express my annoyance. Then, an idea popped into my head. Percy was only staying married to me so that I wouldn't marry Luke. Well, I decided then that I was going to do everything in my power to make him hate married life to me. Then he'll want to sign the annulment and we can move on. Alright Percy, you want to play games. Let's play the newlywed game.

"You know what Percy, you're right. I haven't been very receptive to our new relationship. After all, we are married now, so it's about time that I get used to it. I mean, it's not like either of us are going anywhere right?"

"I'm glad you are started to get comfortable with this."

"I am so comfortable." I plastered a sickly sweet smile on my face.


	7. Chapter 7

_Sooooooo, I can't remember if I posted a chapter yesterday or not...so I will gift you all with two chapters tonight!_

 _I do not own Percy Jackson or the Seven Year Hitch_

Married life wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. That is until Annabeth decided to full on accept the role as wife. I thought married life was suppose to be peaches and cream and all that gooey stuff you see in chick flicks. Annabeth played the loving, doting, happy wife for all of a month. Then it started going downhill from there.

"Percy, you know what I've always thought?"

"That Baroque architecture is preferable to Medieval because you like the archways better, even though Notre Dame is your favorite cathedral?"

"Yes, but no. I was thinking about how much yard space we have."

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Well, I've been doodling a little bit in my spare time, and I was just thinking how lovely it would be if we had a gazebo. I have ALWAYS wanted a gazebo in the backyard, wouldn't that be lovely?"

"Of course it would, who are you thinking of hiring to contract it?"

"Oh silly, that takes so much time, I was just thinking you could do it."

"Why?"

Annabeth looked at me with those grey eyes I knew I could never refuse. But I tried. "I mean if it's too much I understand. I just thought with this being your last week of school and all, you would want something to do for the start of the summer. But if you can't, I can always get Luke to come over and build it for us. He's very good with his hands and maybe we'll use it later for an actual wedding."

If i was drinking something I would have spit it out. "No that's alright, HONEY, I'll do it. Just give me the blueprints and I'll get the lumber this weekend and start."

She batted her eyes like it was nothing, something a normal married couple would do. That's what every normal guy married to a woman does. Random building projects until she runs out of things to do. But if it meant saving her from the likes of Luke, it will be worth every splinter I get over the summer.

* * *

"So Annabeth, how's the plan to make Percy want to divorce you?" Juniper stopped by for lunch while Percy was out for some teaching seminar.

"Honestly Juniper? Not so good. He's done everything I've asked him to, no matter how crazy it is. I made him build that gazebo a while ago, he trimmed the hedges to look like perfect cubes, he regrouted the bathroom, and even got us new curtains because the old ones were "so 2000"."

I sat down unceremoniously on the couch, and threw my arm over my eyes. For the past three months I had been giving Percy the most ridiculous orders I could think of to get him to divorce me. What was I going to have to do?! Make him vaccuum the driveway?! I huffed out a long breath and tried to get myself under control.

Being married to Percy wasn't so bad, if I really thought about it. Nothing really changed between us. We still hung out because we were best friends, we were roommates before this anyway so our lifestyle didn't change. The only noticeable difference I could detect, would be if Percy and I would be laughing at a movie or something stupid he did, his eyes would light up and we would stop everything productive. But at the end of our giggling fits he would give me this odd look, like there was something he wanted to tell me, but he would just go back to whatever we were doing and life would move on.

As I thought about it more, over the past few years Percy had been giving me that look more and more. One of these days I would have to ask him what he wanted to say so badly, I could tell there was something on his mind that he was bottling up, but I guess I was too preoccupied before to notice. But overall, marriage wasn't that bad.

When the neighbors found out we had "eloped" they sent over enough baked goods and casseroles to last us for a month. When we went out with friends or just hung out together we held hands to seem legit, he would always pull out my chair like a gentleman, or put his arm around my waist if we were in a crowded area so he wouldn't lose me. It was simple gestures that he did that were really endearing, like he actually cared about me in a romantic way. But I knew that wasn't true, at the end of the day we still slept in our individual rooms, and we would wake up the next day and play pretend some more.

"Hey Annabeth?" Juniper asked me.

I hadn't realized I was dozing off. "Yeah June?"

"Does Percy sing "Can't Take my Eyes off You?"

What a weird question. I thought back in my brain, he never usually sang anywhere except in the shower or driving in the car. Now that I thought about it some more, one day I was running late and Percy was taking too long in the shower and I had to brush my teeth and do my hair still. He had forgotten to lock the door so I just came in quietly to do it myself. Unfortunately, the moment I turned on the water to brush my teeth he notice because his water got cold. There was a small argument that I eventually won, but he had been singing that song when I walked in.

"Yeah he sings it in the shower why?"

Juniper just shrugged her shoulders. "You were humming it a little while ago, and I was curious. Because I know you're more of a Beatles fan."

"Remind me again why we're here." I was dressed in the nicest clothes I could find in the closest that weren't teacher clothes or the penguin suit I wore to my cousin's wedding.

Annabeth rolled her eyes at me and continued to scan the crowd in front of us.

"You didn't have to come remember? I said I was going to a business party for Luke's company and you said you wanted to come along."

I grunted a response. The whole point of me wanting to come was to dissuade her from coming. But it hadn't happened. She felt that she had been "ignoring" Luke and this was her way of apologizing. She would show up and wow all of his colleagues and stay attached to him all night. Obviously I couldn't let that happen. So the new plan was to make myself scarce for the night until she caught up with Luke, then I would appear and remind her that we needed to go back home like the good husband I was.

Why can't things ever go as planned?


	8. Chapter 8

_I do not own Percy Jackson or The Seven Year Hitch_

I had reduced myself to sitting in the corner for the better part of an hour. I thought that if I came to reveal my marriage to Annabeth to Luke he would show his true colors and leave. But one look at Luke and I was pushed to the back of her mind. She bound over to him, gave him a quick peck on the cheek, and promptly introduced herself to Luke's business associates. So here I sat, drinking flat sparkling water and trying to eat as many finger sandwiches I could get my hands on. I was starving.

My chance finally came when I saw Annabeth excuse herself to use the restroom and unlatched herself from Luke's arm. As soon as she was out of the room, Luke's eyes instantly locked on mine and gave me a glare that could have burned a hole through my skull. He also excused himself from the woman that was talking to him and walked over to me.

I remained sitting, to show how much respect I gave him. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and proceeded to glare at me as if I was a particularly problematic piece of lint.

"Hello Percy," Luke said matter of factly, as if it pained him to even breathe near me.

"Hello Luke," I said with a nod but didn't initiate any other conversation.

Luke took the hint and shuffled his weight from one foot to the other. "So, what are you doing here Percy? This isn't exactly a football game you know."

I raised my eyebrow at that. "Like you would know the difference between a football and a soccer ball. Tell me, do you even know that the lines on the field actually have a purpose other than for the marching band?"

Luke scoffed at that. I would have too, that was a horrible come back.

"And besides Luke, I'm here for Annabeth."

That seemed to peak Luke's interest at the mention of her name.

"Oh, really? Last time I checked, Annabeth was a fully grown woman that didn't need a babysitter to make sure she washed her hands and didn't throw dirt."

My blood was starting to boil at this point. "No, she doesn't need a babysitter, she needs a bodyguard from sleazebags like you."

Luke rolled his eyes, smirked, and rolled his neck to make horrible crunching noises. "Yeah like she'll ever believe you on that whole thing that happened. If I were you, I would just drop it all together. By this time next month we'll be married, and you'll be out of our lives."

Now it was my turn to smirk. I was about to drop a bombshell on that dream. "Oh yeah, didn't Annabeth tell you?"

Luke looked offended. "Tell me what?"

"Oh, she won't be marrying you."

Luke noticeably stiffened and fixed his gaze on me. "What do you mean Percy?"

"Oh yeah, she must not have told you. She won't be marrying you because she's already married, to me." I said that last part a little bit louder than the rest to try and get the attention of the crowd. Luckily it worked and the whole room got silent.

Luke made an excellent recovery though and just laughed it off like a joke and motioned that everyone should carry on their conversations. But I could tell that he was not happy because when the normal chatter and background noise resumed he grabbed me by the bicep and drug me to the side door and outside where no one would hear us.

Once safely surrounded by bushes and various other shrubbery, Luke released his vice grip on my upper arm. I wouldn't admit it to his face, but it kinda hurt.

"Hey, I'm going to miss the party. I hear the guy in charge is suppose to give a good speech and then give out gift bags." I rubbed my arm as I backed away from Luke ever so slightly. At this point he was seething.

"I'm going to count to three, and by that time, you're going to tell me about this stupid idea you have in your head about being married to Annabeth." Luke was more than seething, he was down right angry.

"I don't know what you mean by stupid. We are married, in the eyes of the law. Because we live together."

"Don't be an idiot, just because you live with someone doesn't mean that you're married."

"Yes it does, in D.C. it does. We have been living in the same residence for over seven years, we've already been introduced as a married couple and I gave her my mother's earrings as a sign of my affection. So technically, yeah we're married. And there's nothing you can do about it."

I was wrong about that. There was something he could do about it, and he did. He sucker punched me right in the lip. I felt my head fly back and the same time I heard a scream. I was hoping it wasn't my own. That was when I looked up and saw Annabeth standing in the doorway leading outside to where we were. She looked wide eyed at Luke shaking out his sore hand and my bleeding, swollen lip.

"What is going on here?!" Annabeth said softly, but with the mom tone in her voice.

I was the first to speak up through a swollen lip. "He sucker punched me. Ow!"

"Luke!"

"He brought it on himself, being so smug about this crazy idea about you being married to him."

Annabeth hesitated. That was exactly what I wanted.

"Wait," Luke's face held disbelief. "You really are legally married to him?"

"Luke I was going to tell you eventually, but I was hoping that by this time it would be annulled and it would never be an issue."

"Never be an issue? You thought that you shouldn't tell your fiance that you're married by the state because it wasn't an issue? Well, I have news for you, it is an issue. A big one, and until you get divorced from Percy and move out, we're done."

And with those words, Luke walked past a dumbstruck Annabeth and reentered the party. I should have been happy with how everything worked out, but one look at Annabeth's face told me that I was mistaken. This wasn't what I wanted.


	9. Chapter 9

_I do not own Percy Jackson or The Seven Year Hitch_

I drove Percy home in silence. I couldn't quite wrap my head around what I heard before heading outside. All I really caught was Percy explaining to Luke about our marriage, and for that he was going to get a reckoning like no other. But what shocked me was Luke actually being violent and punching Percy. I never would have thought that was something he would have done.

But with that, also came an ultimatum. I either leave Percy as my best friend so I can get married to Luke or leave Luke and keep my friendship with Percy. I certainly was in a predicament. I mentally made a pros and cons list in my head, making all the appropriate turns and obeying all the rules of the road. The ultimate deciding factor was free will. I could willingly enter a marriage with Luke, with Percy I was forced, and if I knew myself at all, I knew that I liked forging my own path. I had made up my mind, but that didn't make it any easier.

I pulled into the driveway and got out of the car to hear the familiar barking sounds of Zeus eagerly awaiting our return. I didn't even consider Zeus in my decision, I knew Luke didn't want any pets, but would Percy let me come and visit?

I walked in and was greeted by the familiar nuzzle of Zeus' nose hitting my knees. I walked over to the freezer and got out an ice pack and threw it on the counter a little more forcefully than needed. I headed to the bathroom and grabbed the first aid kit. When I walked out, Percy was sitting on a barstool holding the ice pack to his lip. He kept his eyes to the ground and absentmindedly patted Zeus on the head. He looked like a child that knew he was in trouble. In a way he was.

I pulled out the barstool beside him and sat down. I turned to face him with antiseptic, gauzes, and soothing oil to put on it.

"Turn this way Percy, I can't clean your lip if you keep staring at the back splash."

Percy did as I asked and turned so we were facing each other on the bar stools. I poured some of the antiseptic on a gauze strip and lightly applied it to the wound. Of course the first thing he did was wince and make a hissing sound at the stinging sensation.

"Well if you wouldn't have instigated he wouldn't have punched you."

"Oh yeah, I forgot that this is my fault." Percy refused to meet my eyes as he spoke.

I sighed and continued to clean his split lip. "I'm sorry Perce. I didn't mean that."

We continued to sit in silence as I put away the antiseptic and threw away the gauze. I came back to the bar stool and applied some of the oil to my fingers and started to rub it into his wound. As I did so, Percy got that look on his face that I had seen so many times in the past few months. It was a look that said, I need to tell you something. But unlike the other times, it didn't disappear. He was finally looking at me, but he was also looking in me. Like he was reading every thought running through my mind.

I hadn't realized that my hand and stopped rubbing oil into his cut until I felt the fatigue of holding it up so long. I dropped my hand without breaking eye contact. What was it that he needed to tell me so badly?

"Percy?"

"Yeah?" he said it without breaking eye contact and continued to stare right into me.

"Why did you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Tell Luke about us?"

"So you're admitting that there is an us?"

"Hasn't there always been? You know, Percy and Annabeth, best friends for life. There is always an us."

Percy blinked and looked away from me. He seemed disappointed in my answer.

"You know that's not what I mean Annabeth."

"Percy, you know me better than anyone else. You're my best-"

"I love you Annabeth."

He looked right at me when he said it. So that's what he was saying with his eyes all this time. The air was thick with tension and I wasn't sure what to do about it.

"Perce, you know you are always special to me. We've been best friends since forever. Do you want to ruin that?"

"Don't." Percy kept his eye contact but I could see his eyes held immense sadness.

"Don't what Perce?"

"Don't give me the whole 'best friend' speech. I've heard it a lot through the years. And it's not so far fetched for me to want more. I want more from us Annabeth."

I sat there stunned at what Percy just confessed to me. Of course I loved him, but not in the way he was asking me to. I had so many questions running through my head, but the only one that came out was, "How long?"

"How long what?"

"How long, have you been in love with me?"

Percy sighed and looked down at his hands in his lap. "Since I gave you your slinky back." And with that he got up from the stool and walked into his bedroom.

I sat there in silence trying to grasp what had just happened all over the course of a few hours. I looked down at Zeus who had laid his head down on my knee. He looked up at me with sad puppy dog eyes, like he knew his inevitable future without both of his parents.

I decided to get up and take a bath to take my mind off of things. But all of the time by myself in the silent house was not the best thing for me. I got out after spending only ten minutes in the tub. I put on my pajamas, took out my contacts, put in my glasses, and headed out with my hair still damp.

I looked around the house and realized that it was so quiet because I was the only one home. Percy's car wasn't in the driveway, and Zeus was laying in his dog bed looking even more sad than before. I walked over the counter top where we had been previously. Sitting on top of the granite countertop was a note from Percy and divorce papers, already signed.


	10. Chapter 10

_I do not own Percy Jackson or The Seven Year Hitch._

Looking back on it now, it probably wasn't wise to leave Annabeth alone in the house undefended while in the bathtub, but at the time it seemed like the only option. I remembered taking out the divorce papers I had hidden in the back of my desk drawer for a long time. I stared at Annabeth's signature on the page and the empty spot designated for me. I had finally come to my senses and signed the darn thing.

After that I took out another piece of paper and started to write a long winded letter about the depths of my affection, and promptly threw it away. I ended up with a short little message saying that I only wanted the best for her, so I was leaving. I would be moved out by the end of the week and rooming with Grover until he had to go back to New York.

In truth there was so much more that I wanted to say to her, but it all boiled down to the fact that I love her. And because I love her, I want her to be happy. And if being with Luke makes her happy, then I would get out of the way. It didn't make it any easier, but I kept telling myself that if she was happy then it would be all worth it.

* * *

I got up off of the couch at the sound of the doorbell after trying to get Zeus' weight off of me. My surprise must have been evident on my face when I opened the door, because Grover was standing there with a sheepish look on his face. He held up both hands like he was showing me he was here to do no harm.

"Hey Annabeth, sorry to bother you. Percy said you would be busy so I was just going to pick up his last box of things and drop off his key." Grover walked into the house and quickly went about gathering up the last of Percy's belongings and set his key on the kitchen counter.

As he stood there making a mental inventory, I happened to see a menu for Tobey's sitting on top. Grover must have seen me look at it because he pulled it out and handed it to me to look at. When I opened the trifold, I saw Percy's slightly messy writing on the inside indicating all of our favorites and crossed out the stuff we didn't like. On the back of the menu, there was more writing of Percy's. This time it said, "Don't forget to stop and smell the mini tacos". It made me smile.

Grove was very observant because he saw that tiny little smile on my face.

"Yeah, Percy is a great guy isn't he?"

"He sure is."

Grover sighed and looked around the house before heading towards the door. But before he stepped out he turned back to me.

"You know Annabeth, he's still the Percy we all know and love."

"Oh, I don't love-love him."

"Oh come on Annabeth. Sure you do. Remember that despite all of his Percy-ness, it's all that Percy-ness that makes him an amazing best friend. That guy that gave you back your slinky."

And with that, Grover turned and left with the last trace of Percy that I had left in the house.

Since Percy and I had divorced, Luke and I had a long talk about our future, and the wedding was back on. We went out to lunch every day together to talk about our day and just be with each other. But something wasn't right. It's like we weren't clicking. I shook it off and chalked it up to wedding jitters. Everything would fall into place once we were married.

Today we were heading to a small little cafe close to Luke's work. I was a little upset that it couldn't be a little more accommodating to both of our work places, but I didn't say anything. In the grand scheme of life, who cared? I got out of the car, locked the doors with the fob, and headed towards the cafe.

As I walked past I glanced through the giant window beside the door. I saw Luke sitting at a little table for two looking at his phone, probably checking his emails. That was when a very tall, very blonde, and very touchy barista came over the the table and set down a coffee in front of Luke. I wouldn't have been bothered by it, if she hadn't stayed just a little too long at the table, and hadn't had her hand on Luke's shoulder for just a little too much time.

Again, I tried to ignore it, but my drawing point was when I saw her take out a pen from her apron and write down something on a napkin. By now, I had seen enough. I barged into the cafe as fast as I could and stormed over the the table Luke was sitting at. As soon as I was there, I perched myself on Luke's lap and gave him the most toe curling kiss I could. His face was surprise and shock, while the girl's was jealous and annoyance.

I broke the kiss and nuzzled our noses together. I feigned ignorance at the perplexed woman standing awkwardly by the table. She must have realized that she wasn't welcome anymore and left to go stand behind the cash register and glare daggers at me. I sat down in my own chair and gave a pointed look to Luke.

"I hope that it was clear why I did that."

Luke just gave me a shrug. "I guess. But it wasn't even a big deal Annie. She was just doing her job."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, her job is to take orders, not flirt with engaged men."

"If it helps her get tips she should do it. Heck you would probably get more business if you went to work in a pencil skirt and a little more cleavage instead of those pantsuits you always wear."

I decided not to even reward that with a response. That was exactly how things had been between us since my divorce with Percy. I just sat there waiting for my food that I ordered, sitting across from a fiance that couldn't take two seconds to glance up from his phone. I was so deep in thought that the food came, and all I did was absentmindedly pick at it with my fork. When I was done shoving food around on my plate, I continued to sit there and wait for an actual conversation with Luke, but everything we talked about was mundane and had no depth.

I thought about just leaving, until Luke actually looked at me for the first time since I walked in.

"What are you doing?" Luke asked me.

I hadn't even moved to get up. "I'm thinking about leaving, my lunch break is almost over." I said matter of factly.

"No, not that. With your hand. What are you doing?"

I hadn't even realized, but while I had been sitting there thinking, my hand had gone up and started fiddling with my earlobe. Feeling the absence of the owl earrings that Percy had given me when we were children was something I wasn't used to. I never took them out and then when the divorce happened I had to give them back, like I would a ring.

I shrugged my shoulders, "I guess I'm just use to wearing earrings."

"Okay, well I'll just have to get you new ones so you don't do that at the wedding."


	11. Chapter 11

_Little note: I am not a doctor and I don't even play one on TV. That also extends to veterinarians. So please don't get too picky with me._

 _I do not own Percy Jackson or The Seven Year Hitch_

It was August, so that meant I should probably be getting my school stuff organized before I actually had to start school, but instead I was thinking about Annabeth. Big surprise right? She had been such a big part of my life, and now that she's gone, I can't help but feel empty. Even if I didn't love her the way I do, I would be content to just be friends and keep our friendship alive. But even that wasn't going to happen. She chose Luke, and if that made her happy, then I would have to be happy.

I looked down at Zeus who was curled up on his doggy bed looking green. I shouldn't be surprised that he looked so down, Annabeth was his entire life too, and now that she was gone neither of us would be happy.

I got down on the floor beside Zeus and started to rub his ears. "I know buddy. I miss her too. Maybe we can invite her to come and play sometime?"

Zeus didn't even acknowledge that I was there. He just took a heavy shuddering breath and panted shallowly.

"Well, what do two bachelors, such as ourselves, do on a fine day like today?" I noticed that his eyelids were drooping like he was tired and his breathing became more and more shallow.

"Zeus? Buddy you okay?"

I thought he was going to give me a bark of confirmation, but instead he started to wheeze, his breathing becoming irregular.

"Oh my God, what do I do?!" I ran to the phone and couldn't remember the vet's number, so I called 911. They instructed me to the nearest vet hospital and I hung up. I ran back to Zeus whose breathing was coming back to normal but was still very shallow. I picked him up to the best of my ability and as quickly as possible got him in the front seat of the car.

"It's going to be okay buddy. You're going to be fine."

I drove like a maniac to the vet hospital. I carried him in and sat him down on the table and demanded that he be treated immediately. I guess I didn't need that order because as soon as the doctor heard his breathing he ordered he put on an IV and taken to an operating room STAT. I watched them take Zeus back to the back and the doctor start to clean his hands and glove up. The last thing I saw before the doors close was Zeus' chocolate eyes staring at me, telling me it was going to be okay.

* * *

I was at the house getting ready for the wedding rehearsal when I hear my phone ringing on the table. I look at the caller ID and see that it's Percy. I hesitate to answer it, I was still raw from what had gone on between us over the summer and didn't know if I was healed enough for a confrontation today of all days. I contemplated too long because the phone stopped ringing.

I set the phone down and started to walk back to the bathroom only to hear my phone ring again. It was Percy again, trying to get ahold of me. Determined to answer the phone, I raised it to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Annabeth! Thank goodness I got you. I'm at the uptown veterinary hospital. Zeus is going into surgery. I don't know what's wrong with him."

Percy sounded panicky. He never panics. He's always the more calm one out of the two of us. He always said I did enough worrying for the both of us. "Perce? Be calm okay? I'm coming down there."

And with that, I grabbed my purse and booked it to the car. Even though Percy and I had some rough patches between us, our dog needed us. And we could put aside our problems to be there for him.

* * *

Annabeth and I stood together as the doctor emerged from the back looking for us. She must not have realized it, but I did, because she instinctively grabbed my wrist for comfort and support for what the doctor had to tell us.

"Mr and Mrs. Jackson?"

I didn't have the time to explain our rocky history so I just nodded while Annabeth stared straight at the doctor.

"Well, I'm glad to say that your dog will be fine. He's going to have to stay here overnight to make sure he doesn't rip out any stitches, but he should be good to go tomorrow."

Hearing those words, Annabeth let go of my wrist and let out a huge sigh of relief. "Thank you so much doctor. May I ask what was wrong with him?"

"Certainly Mrs. Jackson," the doctor answered. And I didn't bother correcting him, neither did Annabeth. "Your dog has heartworm. Now lucky we were able to treat him for it, because you caught it early. Just from now on take precautionary measures before taking him outside and into the woods, like flea and tick medication and keep his shots up to date. You've got a fighter of a dog back there. Any other dog wouldn't have been showing signs this early, but you're very lucky."

The doctor shook our hands and left. It was that time that I finally got to deflate. I had been so worked up about this whole thing. It was a good thing Annabeth was here to keep me grounded. She always did that. It was like when she was around I could always focus better, see more clearly.

Annabeth looked at the watch on her wrist and silently cursed. She looked at me with those grey eyes that I have been captivated by since I first saw her.

"Um, Percy, I have to go. But, will you keep me updated on how Zeus is doing?"

I nodded my head. I tried my hardest to remember what she would be doing today that was more important that waiting for Zeus to wake up from the surgery. Then I remembered, the wedding rehearsal was today.

"Yeah sure, no problem Annabeth." I looked at the door that Zeus was staying in to avoid looking at the stormy eyes in front of me.

"Thank you Percy, this means the world to me."

I nodded my head and tried to not let my watery eyes show. The love of my life was standing right beside me, and I had to let her go.

"No problem Annabeth. You go to the rehearsal, I'll stay here and wait for Zeus to wake up. He needs to see a familiar face."

Annabeth nodded and started to head for the doors. Before she reached them though she looked back and me and gave me a small smile. As much as I hated to admit it, that smile gave me the smallest semblance of hope. Hope that one day, we would be friends again. Hope that she wouldn't be gone from my life forever. Because I would rather have Annabeth be my friend, than nothing at all.


	12. Chapter 12

_I do not own Percy Jackson or The Seven Year Hitch._

I ran to the pavilion as fast as I could wearing a dress and high heels. I wasn't too late, only 20 minutes. But I mean it's my own wedding rehearsal, it's not like they can start without me.

I saw Luke standing and talking to a woman wearing a professional pantsuit. I walked over and linked my arm through his and he bent down and gave me a kiss on the forehead.

"I'm so sorry, honey. But there was an emergency call from Percy." At hearing Percy's name, Luke stiffened significantly. "Now Luke, nothing happened. It was about Zeus, he had to have emergency surgery and Percy called to tell me so I could go and check on him."

"Well how nice of him to conveniently call you on the day of our wedding rehearsal."

I scoffed at that. "Luke, it's not like he purposefully gave our dog heartworm." He rolled my eyes and led me to a group of people and introduced me. After their conversation had died down and they moved on to the next line of gossip I leaned towards Luke.

"Who were those people?"

Luke looked at me curiously. "Those are our friends dear. Remember, from that party we went to awhile back."

I looked at him with mild annoyance. "You never introduced me to them during that party. I went home early remember? And besides what are they even doing here? This is suppose to be for family and the wedding party."

"Well, they're a part of my business and they spend a lot of time with me, so they're basically family."

I was getting a little irritated now. "Luke I don't know these people, I don't even know if I want them at my wedding. I thought we wanted just a small group of people."

He was going to try and come up with an answer, but I decided I needed some alone time so I could get through the rest of the day so I excused myself to the restroom. When I came out I overheard Luke talking with an older woman that he worked for.

"So what do you think of her Mrs. Dodds."

"Oh Luke she is lovely. What a wonderful woman to make your wife. And now that you're married, I'm sure I can sell you to the board for that promotion. They'll see you as a family man and they'll also see you as a financial asset because your wife will have a good income as well."

Before I could confront Luke about the altercation I had just overheard, the reverend called us to the backyard where the ceremony would be held.

It was taking so much longer than I wanted to just get through the rehearsal part of the day. Every time we would do something that older lady that Luke worked for, Mrs. Dodds, would step in and say something was out of place or that wording needed to be changed, and Luke went along with it. It took us forty minutes to get through properly walking down the aisle. I was starving.

"And at this point, Luke, you will take Annabeth's wedding band from my hand and put it onto her finger." The reverend gave us instructions and we would follow them like we would in two days. Luke lifted my hand and pretended to slip a wedding band onto my finger.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Mrs. Dodds looking very intently at the engagement ring on my finger. Luke obviously saw it too, because he held up my hand for a better inspection.

"Do you think it's adequate Mrs. Dodds?" Luke asked, as if her approval was all that mattered in the world.

"Oh yes Luke lovely. Where did you get it?"

I was about to answer that the ring was his grandmother's that she gave to him before she passed away. But Luke beat me to the punchline.

"Bought it at that high end jewelry store on 12th. Cost me three paychecks, but it's worth it to see something so shiny and big on my wife's finger." Luke winked at me like it was the best thing he had ever done.

I brought my hand down from his own. "Luke, you told me this ring was your grandmother's. That she gave it to you before she died."

Luke was taken aback. He floundered for the words to say and try to save his butt. "Well, I thought about giving you my grandmother's ring. But I was going past the store and saw this one in the window and just knew you had to have it. Plus my grandmother's ring was a piece of junk anyway. It was dinged up and the diamonds were tiny. You deserve something better than that."

I thought long and hard about what Luke just said to me. And for once he was right. I deserved something better than this.

Luke was standing there talking to the reverend about something miniscule when I interrupted him. "Luke?"

"What baby? I'm a little busy."

"What's my favorite color?"

Luke looked at me with confusion. "What kind of a question is that?"

"It's an important one to me Luke, now answer it."

"I don't know. Blue? Purple maybe?"

That was all I needed to know to assure me that my next decision was the right one.

"No Luke. For your information it's green."

"Okay baby I'm sorry. I don't understand why it's a big deal."

"It's a big deal to me Luke. And it makes me even more sure that I don't want to marry you."

For the first time that day Luke actually gave me his undivided attention. "What?"

"I don't want to marry you. You're everything that I cannot stand in a man, and I don't know why I was crazy enough to think that you loved me." With that, I handed the engagement ring to the reverend and headed to my car as fast as my high heeled feet could take me.


	13. Chapter 13

_I do not own Percy Jackson or The Seven Year Hitch._

Driving home from the veterinarian hospital was much better than driving there. Zeus was awake and seemed to be getting back to his old self. He was still a little drowsy, I could tell by the way he wanted to look out the window but every time he lifted his head it would flop over to the other side like Annabeth when she went on that really spinny ride at the fair.

When I got back to Grover's apartment, Zeus headed straight for his doggy bed and took a power nap. I couldn't blame him. I thought I should do the same thing, so I went to the couch turned bed for my temporary stay and laid down. The only problem was, my mind was running a mile a minute and would not slow down.

I was thinking of the only person that had the ability to occupy my thoughts for more than twenty minutes at a time. Of course I was thinking about my Annabeth, well, my former Annabeth. I thought about the way her grey eyes would light up and glow when she solved a particularly hard sudoku problem. I thought about her beach blonde hair with it's princess curls always in perfect order, even when she claimed it was a total rat's nest. I loved how she was just as smart as she was tough because up until I turned 15 she could still kick my butt and an arm wrestling match.

I had been sitting there for half an hour thinking of the one thing I couldn't have but desperately wanted. So instead of wallowing in my misery of not being able to be with her, I decided to run out my frustrations. I decided to go to the park nearby and go for a run. I quickly changed into some workout clothes, filled up Zeus' water bowl in case he woke up thirsty, grabbed my keys and left.

* * *

Driving home after breaking off your four month long engagement to a fiance you had known for six weeks prior to said engagement was not as horrible as it might sound. In fact, it felt like a huge weight had been taken off my shoulders. Looking back now, I realized how many times Percy had been there for me as my friend and support, and how many times I took that for granted. He was an amazing man, and I was lucky enough to be the girl he chose. And I threw it away for a guy I barely knew.

Luke had swept me off my feet because he was the exact opposite of Percy. He was everything I was not use to. Whereas Percy was the same height as me and fit, Luke was tall and broad. Percy had dark, almost black hair, and Luke had the sandy blonde color that you would see out of a magazine. Percy's eyes were sea green and sparkled in the sun while Luke's eyes were blue and shrouded in mischief. Luke treated me like I was a prize, a conquest. Percy treated me like his friend, his confidant. You know sometimes for being such a "Wise Girl", I make the dumbest mistakes.

Driving to Grover's apartment, I was hoping that it wasn't too late for me to get on my knees and beg Percy to let me back in his life and confess the feelings that I had known for years, but laid dormant and repressed. Finally, parking near the curb, I jumped out of the car and ran to the buzzer that would ring the apartment that I was here. I pushed the button once, and then twice, and then I started to just hold down the buzzer until someone answered me.

"Listen pal, if you have a problem with Grover why don't you ring the bell in a civilized manner instead of interrupting some very important business?!"

I was startled. I was NOT expecting that voice to come from this place. "Juniper?"

There was silence. "Who is this?"

"It's Annabeth, June, can you guys let me up? I need to talk to Percy right now."

"He's not here Annabeth. He left about ten minutes ago, no note where he went."

"Okay thanks anyway June, you've got some 'splaining to do. But another time. I have to go find Percy and tell him I love him."

I didn't wait for a reply because I ran back to my car and drove off in a mad dash trying to think like Percy and where he would go. _Think Annabeth think, if I were Percy, where would I go? Zeus should be up and about by now so he's not there. It's too early in the day to be at Tobey's. The Y to go swimming? No he doesn't like to go there anymore because there's an old man that likes to take off all his clothes in the locker room. Think, where is he?_

Finally it hit me, and I knew exactly where I would find him.

* * *

The run around the park had done little to clear my head, so I figured if I was going to be doing some major thinking, I should go to my thinking spot. The thinking spot is a picnic table on the edge of the lake near the northeastern side of the park. Not a lot of people come this way because it's too far off the jogging path and frankly I was okay with that. I liked the solitude and the peacefulness of being by myself and staring at the water.

This became the thinking spot when Annabeth and I were in high school and found this place when we had to find flowers for a botany class. We immediately fell in love with the secluded area and the feeling of being one with nature. We decided to start meeting there sometimes when the weather was nice for tutoring instead of the library, because even in a library I found things to get distracted by.

Sometimes we would pack little picnics and bring them here, other times during the summer a bunch of our friends and us would go a little bit away from the table and go swimming in the lake after dark. It was a magical time, but this spot will always be our spot. We carved our initials into the seat of the table and pinky swore that this place was going to be our secret place. No one was ever going to take it from us.

At that moment I heard some rustling behind me. I turned to see a very winded and very beautiful Annabeth coming around the corner in killer heels. I stood up and offered her my hand so she wouldn't trip on the uneven earth, and helped her to sit on the bench attached to the table. She looked at me gratefully and with something else that I couldn't quite put my finger on.

As I started to sit down next to her on the bench she continued to stare at me like she hadn't seen me in ages.

"Hey Perce." Annabeth said with the corner of her mouth turning up.

"Hey Annabeth." I answered while turning to face her.

She kept looking at me and for some strange reason, my errant thoughts I had been dealing with all day suddenly vanished. It was like my mind knew that the answer to all my problems was sitting beside me.

"Percy? I have a question."

"Are you sure it's just one question? Because right now only, I am giving you a special offer of buy one question get one free."

Annabeth laughed at my corny joke and it effectively broke the ice that had somehow formed between us. But now, making her laugh again, it felt like we were back to the way we use to be.

"Alright, since this a one time only deal, I will take it."

"Then fire away, I have the right to reject answering the first question, but the second question is a free for all."

Annabeth laughed again and her smile stayed on her face. "Percy, what's my favorite color?"

I stopped for a moment. "What kind of a question is that?"

"Percy just answer it please."

I rolled my eyes at her impatience, same old Annabeth. God I love her. "Green. Your favorite color is green. Your purse is green, your room is painted green, your coat is teal, that's a form of green."

Annabeth smiled. "That's right, it's green."

I smiled back and her and brushed off my shoulders like it was nothing. "Now don't forget you still have one free question, so don't waste it on something stupid like asking if I ate glue as a child because I liked the taste or what that guy from the YMCA looked like. Because you know the answers to both those questions, yes I ate glue because of the taste and I didn't get a good look at the guy's face. One minute he was fully clothed, I turn around and the next he's out in all his glory."

Annabeth burst into laughter at that and I mentally patted myself on the back. I bet no one else could make Annabeth laugh that hard even if they tried. Because she had laughed so hard she found she had to take in deep gulping breaths to try and settle down. And once her heart rate had gone back to a normal pace, she leaned her head on my shoulder and let out a huge sigh.

She seemed completely content to have her head resting on my shoulder and didn't make an attempt to remove it any time soon, so I rested my head on top of hers and let out a sigh of my own. If this, right now, this moment, was only a fraction of what it felt like to be Annabeth's, I would settle for it. Even if it was only a fraction of the feeling, it would be worth it to be with her.

"Percy?"

"Yeah Annabeth?"

"I want to cash in that last question now."

"Sure thing, fire away."

She took a deep breath. "Do you still love me?"

I lifted my head from hers and she did the same to stare into my eyes. I looked into those grey eyes that had captured me since I was a kid.

Annabeth was staring at me intently, waiting for my answer.

"Who said I stopped?"

 _Whew! Longest chapter!_


	14. Chapter 14

_The Last Chapter! WOOOOHOOOOO I know it's short, but I hope you like it._

 _I do not own Percy Jackson or The Seven Year Hitch_

Sitting under the gazebo that Percy had made with a cold drink in my hand and friends around me was a great way to start the weekend. Percy was sitting beside me telling us about his students and how he had to turn someone in for running down the hallway spraying axe everywhere. Grover was sitting across from him with his arm around Juniper listening intently to what Percy was saying. Juniper was half listening half playing fetch with Zeus as he chased after a tennis ball.

In the last few months my life had changed so drastically by going back to normal. Percy and I were not only housemates, but also roommates as well. I stared down at the shining ring placed on my ring finger and thought about all the trouble I went through to get it. Though to be fair, I put Percy through much worse. I stared up at him, with his eyes animated and his hair always seeming to be a mess but not look bad. He caught me staring because he gave me a little wink and started to pantomime the kid running down the hall being chased by the football coach.

Percy's story eventually died down and I wanted to know more about Grover and Juniper's adventure.

"So, how's business going for you two?"

Grover started, "Great Annabeth! Since we decided to merge our companies because I specialize in family court and June here has a particular affinity for animals and those less fortunate, we've been great with the startup. Plus it doesn't hurt that she finds me absolutely irresistible." Grover wiggled his eyebrows and Juniper and she playfully smacked his arm.

"I'm so glad to hear that. I'm happy for you."

"We're happy for you too Annabeth. We're so glad that you two are finally tying the knot. Well, retying the knot I suppose." Juniper gave a little chuckle at our interesting predicament.

Percy grabbed my hand and kiss the back of it. "Yeah Annabeth. So technically, our upcoming nuptials is actually a renewing of our vows right?"

I laughed and kissed him for being so silly, and because I loved him. "No, this is going to be a complete do over. Our first run at marriage was just a practice run."

Percy smiled at me and hugged me close. "That's right, the next seven years are going to be the real deal, and then after that, well you're stuck with me."

I intertwined our hands and looked up into those green eyes that had I had loved since we were children and knew, that there was no one else I would rather be with.

 _Happy Little Epilogue for you guys. Hope you enjoyed it!_

 _Thank you so much for all of your love and support throughout this story. I had great fun writing it and I hope you had as much fun reading it. :)_


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